


Do You Believe In Me Like I Believe In You?

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Angst, Episode Tag, Episode: s07e09 The Wedding, F/M, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-04-10
Updated: 2007-04-10
Packaged: 2019-05-31 08:48:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15115922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: "Apparently, I'm also not up on my Righteous Brothers trivia."





	Do You Believe In Me Like I Believe In You?

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

  
Author's notes: As you see, I have lost my battle with the powers that be and here I am in the midst of another series. Sometimes I have to know when to shut up and just write.  


* * *

“I'm a single woman dying to be entertained.” She said.

Josh sighed as Donna stroked the back of his head. He turned, taking the champagne bottle from her hand.

“You are not single.” He replied. “Where is Cliff?”

He was in and out of the Oval Office; Ellie’s wedding was not the only thing that needed his attention today. In fact, it was last on the long list of things that needed his attention.

“Josh…”

“I gotta…have you seen Leo?”

“He was…”

“I gotta talk to Leo.”

He gave the champagne back and left Donna sitting alone on the steps. It all seemed to be falling apart today…why did it have to be today. She took a deep breath and wished in vain for a flute. There was still press and plenty of guests around. Would it look unseemly for the Santos campaign spokesperson to end up in the People Magazine spread taking a bottle of Ballatore to the head?

“Hey beautiful. Come here often?”

Donna looked at him and smiled. Cliff looked sexy in his tuxedo. What was it about the men of the Bartlet Administration and penguin suits? What was it about men?

“Hi there.”

He held out his hand, she took it and let him pull her up.

“Did you steal that bottle of champagne?” he asked.

“I will have you know that it was given to me personally by the First Lady of the United States. You’ve been busy tonight.”

“You too. I feel like this is a summit and not a wedding. There is China and Russia, lessons in campaign finance, and a very lecherous Ambassador to Canada who I have had to rein in on more than one occasion today. Who invited the Santos crew?”

“The President. If he wouldn’t have, I would not be here. We had to come from Philly.”

“I know, but I don’t think Ellie was too happy about the guest list.”

“You don’t know her very well…happiness is not Ellie Bartlet’s default position. She is a lovely girl though, and I hope Vic makes her happy.”

They started to walk along the corridor; the party was dying down but not over. Cliff could see Barry Goodwin and Senator Montgomery cornering Santos and Leo. Hushed tones were required for that conversation. Perhaps Josh Lyman would be looking for a job in the morning. Cliff would have to try and not be so happy about that thought.

“What's that about?” Cliff asked.

“I don’t really know. Let’s find champagne flutes and have a drink.”

It sounded like a good idea to Cliff. They went into the East Room and over to the bar they set up.

“We are just going to grab these two flutes.” He said.

“Help yourself.”

Over at a table, Cliff cracked the champagne and Donna smiled.

“A toast.” He held up his glass.

“To what?”

“To the most intriguing, beautiful woman I know. To my feelings for her.”

“To feelings.”

They clinked glasses and Donna sipped her drink. She reached across the table to caress his hand. Cliff sighed.

“Am I going to be able to drag you out of here tonight?” she asked.

“I'm not top-tier…I'm sure they won't miss me.”

“Cliff, you are an important member of this team. You always belittle how much you do here and I don’t like it. Leo and the President believed in you and CJ would be lost for something if you weren’t here.”

“Yes ma'am. Are you leaving tonight?”

“I'm here until tomorrow afternoon. Did you have something in mind?”

“Not really. I just want to go home, take off this bowtie, and crash out.”

“Cliff!”

They both laughed. The music cued up to Unchained Melody and Donna looked around the room.

“Is there music playing or is it all in my head?” she asked.

“Dance with me.”

They stood and Cliff took her into his arms. Donna relaxed as they swayed. It had been too long since she was in his arms. Actually, this was the first time they ever danced together.

“You feel so good.” He whispered.

Donna stroked his face, tears pooling in her eyes.

“Why the tears, love?”

“I am so glad we are together. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The kisses were tender, lips barely touching as electricity coursed through both of their veins. Though neither of them knew it, Josh stood outside the door and watched them. He took a deep breath, shoved his hands into his pocket, and walked away.

“Oh, my love, my darling,” Cliff crooned. “I've hungered for your touch, a long, lonely time.”

“You're wonderful.” Donna replied.

“I am no Bill Medley.”

“No.” she shook her head. “But that’s OK because Bobby Hatfield sang the lead on this song.”

“Apparently I'm also not up on my Righteous Brothers trivia.”

“Apparently.”

Cliff laughed, holding her closer. The song ended and Runaround Sue began. Donna was excited and they started to dance around. Spinning and swinging as they let the music take them away. They were both surprised by the clapping, turning to smile at CJ.

“Must be nice to get in one dance with your man.” The White House Chief of Staff said.

Donna hugged her…the women had not seen each other since the Convention. There had been phone conversation but it was not the same. Over all the years campaigning and working in the White House, they’d gotten close. After all that happened over the last year and a half, CJ felt more alone than ever.

“I didn’t know you could even dance Cliff Calley.”

“I'm a man for all seasons.” He replied, putting his arm around Donna.

“Well I'm getting out of here, and you can go too. There is nothing else to do tonight.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. This day is over; we all need a good night’s sleep.”

“Did you see Josh?” Donna asked.

“Don’t worry about him. Leo is talking to him. He will be fine.”

“OK.” She hugged and kissed CJ again. “I’ll be back on the road tomorrow so…”

“Expect an insane late night phone call sometime in the future. Goodnight guys.”

“Goodnight.” Cliff waved.

Donna grabbed the champagne bottle, sticking a napkin in the top to keep it from spilling.

“Let’s get out of here Counselor, before they find a reason to keep us.”

“Don’t you need to tell someone? They may be looking for you. With Josh and Leo huddled there could be a strategy session in the works.”

“Cliff, I just don’t care. I work all the time and I have one measly night free. I want to spend it with the man I love.” She grabbed her cell phone from her tiny purse. “Maybe this will make you feel better.” She pressed a number. “Bram, this is Donna, what's happening? Uh huh, yeah, uh huh, right. I gotcha. Well I am going home.” She laughed. “No comment smarty pants. Tomorrow morning, uh huh. Look, not o’dark thirty if we don’t have to. OK, right. Goodnight.”

She hung up and looked at Cliff.

“Are you ready to go home with me now?” she asked.

“Yeah. C’mon.”

It was a lovely night in DC, though they could both smell the rain in the air. It didn’t matter because they wanted to walk to Cliff’s condo. They held hands as she carefully swung their free champagne.

“I sensed a bit of trouble with the campaign.” he said.

“It’s the usual stuff…you get used to it after a while. We’re in the home stretch. We got a nice bump in the polls. All of this craziness seems crazy, for lack of a better term. Election Days are strange…you never know what is going to happen. Did I tell you that I accidentally voted for Ritchie last time? I stood outside of the polling place for hours and hours until I could find someone to vote for Bartlet in exchange. That’s how I met Jack. You never know what is going to happen until it is over. We just wait it out.”

Cliff nodded, squeezing her hand. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She looked content.

“I had fun dancing with you tonight.” She said. “We definitely need to do that more often.”

“Yeah, that was fun. Right now we don’t have time to do anything more often.”

Thunder grumbled and the heavens opened on them. It was useless to make a run for it; they were two blocks from Cliff’s place. It felt good to Donna anyway, and she tilted her chin to feel the rain on her face.

“I'm so glad you're here.”

They stood in his foyer, dripping wet in each other’s arms. Donna relished his kisses.

“Cliff?”

“Yes love?” he moved his lips down her neck, tasting the rain.

“I was a little scared that maybe your feelings for me changed.”

“What?” Cliff moved away from her, studied her face. He could see it in her eyes; this was not a test. “Donna?”

“I don’t know; you’ve just been so distant lately. I was worried because you weren’t talking to me and I felt as if you were being pushed away.”

“I'm not. You were at the White House today, and that was supposed to be a celebration. Imagine your average Tuesday. I've been so busy and exhausted. I want you home with me; I want to be with you. While we’re separated, I have to just do my job and live the day to day. I'm sorry if you felt I was pushing you away. I would never, ever do that.”

“I just, I love you. I don’t want to lose you because I'm pursuing my dreams.”

“Don’t be silly.” Cliff pulled her into his arms, holding her tight. “I want your dreams too Donna. I want them as much as you do.”

Donna held him and let a few stray tears fall.

“Do you feel better?” he asked. “It’s always better to just get it off your chest.”

“I think so.”

He kissed her softly, stroking her cheek.

“We need to get you out of these wet clothes…you're shivering. How about a hot shower, more champagne, and something to eat?”

Donna nodded, holding his hand as they walked back to his bedroom.

***

In bathrobes, Cliff and Donna cuddled on the couch with champagne and bagel bites. The Nats game played on TV but the hometown team was taking a beating from the Yankees. It didn’t matter to the couple; they were more into each other than baseball. Passionate kisses, gentle caresses, hands touching everywhere. Donna opened Cliff’s bathrobe; his body got a thorough examination with her hands and lips. He sighed, running his fingers through her hair as she kissed across his chest.

“Do I make you feel good?” she murmured on his skin.

“Very good. Better than I've felt in weeks.”

He brought her face to face with him, reiterated with his eyes how he felt for her. She kissed him, climbing into his lap.

“If we have only one night together, what would we do?” she asked.

“Hmm, a part of me wants to say I would make love to you until the sun rose.”

“I sense a but coming Mr. Calley.”

“I would rather hold you, touch you, and talk to you. I want to hear you laugh and watch our favorite movie. I want to dance again.”

‘That sounds good.”

“What would you do?” Cliff asked.

“The shower was a lovely start. I would just be happy in your arms. I'm happy right now as a matter of fact.”

“And you know I love you?”

She nodded.

“Are you sure?”

“It’s just hard. We started this relationship at a distance and the expected milestones have come and gone with our separation. I guess you expect certain things and when they don’t happen, you think something is wrong. Sometimes you have to remember your thing is a little unconventional.”

“A little?” Cliff raised an eyebrow.

“Yes…just a little. The election is about seven weeks away. No matter how it goes we get to be together again.”

That was what he most looked forward to. He understood Donna when she said expected milestones came and went. Their six-month anniversary was a week and a half away. There would be no candlelight dinner and typical exchanges of trinkets. She would be on the road and he would be at the White House. Cliff was also putting out feelers concerning life after Bartlet. He didn’t know if he should stay local to be close to Donna in case of a victory or look to a future far away from the halls of the federal government. He knew he wanted to stay in the law…the whole world was open for him.

“Something is on your mind.” Donna said, running her fingers through his damp hair. “Tell me.”

Cliff listened to the thunder roll and the rainfall hard outside of the window.

“There is a Vassar’s softball game on Fox Sports Network. They're playing Barnard and both teams are undefeated.”

Donna just laughed and Cliff loved the gaiety of the sound. She kissed his cheek.

“I've married a sports freak.” She said.

“What did you just say?” He ran his hands up the back of her Terry cloth robe.

“I think I said I married a sports freak.”

“You know something I don’t Donnatella? Don’t keep me in the dark.”

“I guess with the wedding and everything…being together again…”

Cliff kissed her. He untied her bathrobe, sliding it down her shoulders. She smiled as he pulled her close and inhaled the scent of her Dove body wash. Her skin was soft and his lips warm where they touched.

“Damn, I am in love with this skin.” He whispered.

Donna moaned; it felt so good to be close to him.

“I love you so much Cliff.”

“I love you too beautiful. And tonight, you are mine.”

“I'm yours all the time. Though I definitely plan to make the most of tonight.”

***


End file.
